Nitrate esters are important organic compounds and can be widely used in modern science. In the military field, polyol nitrate ester is an important component of an explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade. Nitrate ester can be used as a cardiotonic drug and vasodilator in medicine. Furthermore, in the field of petroleum processing, nitrate ester with alkyl group can be used as a diesel booster for increasing octane value.
Unfortunately, the preparation of organic nitrate ester (especially nitrate ester with more than one nitryloxy group, like glycerol trinitrate) is connected with safety issues since organic nitrate esters are explosive and therefore difficult to handle even in a diluted solution. In addition to the use of highly corrosive acids, and the need for management of large amounts of aqueous nitrate waste render the difficulty of industrial production of organic nitrates. In addition, even if a batch reactor is used for the preparation of organic nitrate ester, it may cause local overheating and lead to danger due to uneven distribution of reactants.
A persistent aim of the chemical industry is to constantly improve and control chemical reactions. Greater control over reactions may lead to, for example, improvements in safety, increases in reaction product yield and/or purity of highly reactive intermediate products. Therefore, there is a need to develop a novel method for preparing nitrate ester in order to solve the above problems.